TN gets smart on long-term care

5:43 AM,
Mar. 9, 2014

Patti Killingsworth

Written by

Patti Killingsworth

The choice isn't nursing home or nothing anymore. For decades, Tennessee spent nearly every Medicaid long-term care dollar on nursing home care - even when people wanted services in their own homes that would have cost the state less.

The Long-Term Care Community Choices Act changed that. The law called for expanded home- and community-based services, giving people "Choices" in long-term care. It also required TennCare to raise nursing home eligibility standards, targeting expensive nursing home care to people with higher needs. People whose needs could be safely and more ...